Yahari Volume 10.5

8/17/2019 Yahari Volume 10.5

1/156


2/156


3/156


4/156


5/156


6/156

Chapter 1: Some day, even Zaimokuza

Yoshiteru will stumble across an easy job th

he can do, probably.

anyone on this planet would know, Chiba rarely saw snow during the winter. Obviously, that

dn’t mean it wasn’t cold because it was cold; it’s winter, after all. I could even claim that Chib

gidity far surpasses any other winter country.

course, I really had no idea since I had never spent the period between the end of January to

bruary anywhere else besides Chiba.

e only visible comparison I could go by was the display on the thermometer and the weather re

porting on the below-freezing weather, but regardless, I wouldn’t actually know how cold it’d

lly be until I experienced it for myself.

the other hand, it’s another truth that the number on the thermometer wasn’t always representa

how cold it’d be in Chiba.

the world, there existed something called a heat index.

u experienced something first-hand, perceived it, learned it, and for the first time, you’d actua

l it.

a juxtaposed example, right now, I could feel a growing divergence between the number on th

ll thermometer and my heat index.

e sole reason for this was due to a single male student in front of me.

weat was excreting from all over his body even though it’s the peak of winter, his mouth was

nvulsing, and he was wiping off the sweat at his brow with the back of his hand covered with

gerless gloves.

…Mu.”

hen he groaned with a heavy voice, that student—Zaimokuza Yoshiteru—hung his head. As he

ing that, he buried his head into the coat he was seemingly fond of and closely resembled an av

rde monument. He looked like he could be mistakenly placed at the entrance of a tower apartm

a high-class street in the Musashi Kosugi area.

th just that single groan, Zaimokuza went quiet and the Service Club returned to a space of

lness.


7/156

ide from Zaimokuza and me, there were other people present in the club, but every single one

m was absorbed in their own business: one was reading a book with a cup of tea in one hand,

other was fiddling with her cellphone while chomping down on tea cakes, and the last one was

usting her bangs looking at a compact mirror.

…Muuuuun.” Zaimokuza moaned again and looked up at the ceiling. This time his voice was, un

rlier, feeble. But even so, he received no response.

hen not a single person—not even one—reacted, Zaimokuza incessantly moaned over and overain.

entually getting fed up with that, a brief sigh came from the diagonally opposite corner of the t

here I was sitting.

hen I glanced in its direction, the Service Club president, Yukinoshita Yukino, placed her cup

aucer and pressed against her temple.

kinoshita made a gander at Zaimokuza and then slid her eyes over to me. “…For the time bein

all we ask what his business is?”

hh…? But the only one who can talk with chuuni is Hikki, though.”

e one who reluctantly answered while chomping down on rice crackers was Yuigahama Yui. W

r body collapsed forward on the table, she turned her head towards me.

ell, for Yukinoshita and Yuigahama to give the suddenly intruding Zaimokuza some kind of

ponse despite how long it took them, it could be considered as a form of kindness.

t the problematic one was the one who had him completely ignored the entire time while gazin

o a mirror, Isshiki Iroha. Then again, why are you even here? I mean, it’s not a big deal or

ything. I won’t ask or anything.

hiki didn’t give Zaimokuza so much of a look. After she checked her bangs, she took out hand

am from her pouch and began skin maintenance on her hand while humming. She spread the cr

ng her thin fingertips and a citric smell filled the air.

at reminds me, Zaimokuza and Isshiki don’t really know each other, do they?

ough, acquaintances or not, it’s likely Isshiki wouldn’t give Zaimokuza any time of the day.

turally, the opposite held true.

hich leaves… I thought, but Yuigahama who had been leaning forward on the table asked, “Hik

hy don’t you ask him?”

kinoshita nodded as if it was a given. “…That’s true. Hikigaya-kun is originally the one

ponsible for these kinds of matters, after all.”


8/156

on’t put me in charge just because you feel like it…”

e only one I was responsible for was Totsuka-tan, you know? I was such a crazy fan that I’d cr

me fans of him and cheer for him at a live concert, you know? But the cuteness of saying Totsu

was abnormal.

any case, the sole individual in this room who could establish communication with Zaimokuza

. I was vaguely aware of how troublesome it was going to be, but he didn’t look like he’d leav

b unless I spoke to him.

aimokuza, what did you come here for…?” I braced myself and asked.

then shot up his face, showing a somewhat happy smile. “Ohh, Hachiman! What a coincidenc

”

o, you really don’t need to act like that…”

apon, as you say. I am currently in a bit of a bind as you can see…” Zaimokuza stopped for a

oment. He corrected his posture as if to begin anew. As the one listening, I ended up doing the s

o you recall our exchange about my worries of becoming a publishing editor?”

eah. Of course, this also happens to be the first time I’ve heard about this.”

re he goes, blurting out something completely outrageous again… I thought.

igahama who had been listening nearby murmured, “Wasn’t it something about light novels or

mething before…?”

an, Yuigahama sure was nice to actually respond. Compared to the other two, they were more

s giving him the cold shoulder. Even Yukinoshita who had shown some interest earlier saw no

ue in listening to Zaimokuza’s answer just now and flipped the page of her book, going back to

ding with a nonchalant look. As for Isshiki who didn’t have any interest in him from the begin

e had a complicated face as she was adjusting her eyelashes with a curler.

wever, what Yuigahama pointed out was certainly right. Zaimokuza’s dream should’ve been t

come a light novel author. There, too, was a period when he claimed he wanted to become a giter. But he immediately jumped ship and went back to wanting to become a light novel author

ain. His wishy-washy nature made me think he’s far more suited to being a politician.

any case, I looked at Zaimokuza to see why he had the sudden change in heart and he crossed h

m with a difficult face.

mhm, it is because light novel authors are the dregs of the entertainment world. It is a job that

t require a foundation to start, a job that anyone can do. Quite frankly, no one would be enviou

even if I became a light novel author and light novels are treated as trash just for being lightvels…”


9/156

imokuza looked dejected as he spoke, but when he popped up his eyes, he stated with a solemn

ice. “…And that is where I realized something.”

-And that is…?” Despite sensing something ominous in the glint of his eyes past his glasses, I

ask. Upon doing so, Zaimokuza violently jumped to his feet, knocking his chair back in the pro

o write is to be criticized! To rest is to disappear! In the world of business, you are but a road

ck! Is there value in such a job!?”

s powerful voiced clamored throughout the room as well as in my head.When the echoing stop

imokuza quietly took his seat again and the room went back to being quiet.

spite his powerful voice, the room continued to act unconcerned. Even Yuigahama who had b

ening to Zaimokuza moments ago had went back to fiddling with her phone.

e only one who could lend an ear to Zaimokuza’s tale at this moment was me. I might’ve been

being alone, but even this solitude was a little excruciating.

-Right… You sure know your stuff…” I was at a loss at how to comment on his sudden outburmentation and responded with something appropriate.

imokuza grinned. “It is because I saw it on the internet.”

ow. The internet is so amazing. The internet has, like, eeeverything.

r exchange thus far had stimulated my satiety center so much that I was feeling bloated, but

imokuza continued on with his wonderful opinion. “As I mentioned earlier, publishing editors

uch cooler! Not only are they able to have a stable life, they are one with the industry of creativs more or less encroaching on the domain of anime creation! With this, I will be able to marry

ice actor! Fuahaha!”

ou must be drunk on Happy Meals with all those happy thoughts you have in your head…”

at would never happen even if Christmas, New Years, and your birthday happened on the sam

y. Heck, throw in Halloween and Valentine’s Day while you’re at it. On another note, “Happy

lloween” and “Happy Valentine’s Day” were used normally all over the world, but what’s so

ppy about them? Valentine’s Day was Saint Valentine’s death anniversary, you know… Are peing to start saying “Happy April Fools!” for April Fools, too?

the same vein as the recent trend of appending happy to anything, Zaimokuza thoughts were no

ception to the rule. They were so happy that they were bad. What’s bad? They were seriously b

the first place, his final destination of marrying a voice actor was bad.

is era’s already suffering from low marriage rates as it is, so how could someone like a light n

hor ever get married with a voice actor? Get your head out of the gutter already!


10/156

on’t really care if Zaimokuza was hurt or depressed as he continued to pointlessly live his

sunderstood life, but I had to make sure to inform him. It’s what they call the goodwill of a

ssmate.

aimokuza.”

Wh-What is it…?”

her my voice had deepened without me noticing or my passion had leaked out with it, but whe

led Zaimokuza’s name, he sat up straight and looked at me head-on. As I looked into his eyes,

wly spoke.

et me ask you. When you were in middle school, did you think that once you got into high scho

u’d be able to get a girlfriend?”

ugh!”

llseyes; Zaimokuza broke into a cold sweat and went dead quiet. I pressed further. “And this i

hat you should be thinking right now. And that is… ‘once I get into university, I should be able a girlfriend!’”

nnngh! H-How did you know…!?”

didn’t even need to ask. My answer was obvious.

veryone’s gone through that before, after all…” I said, instinctively letting out a heavy voice. Y

re, too, was a time where I had those thoughts. It’s because I was a teeny, tiny toddler who kn

thing of the world nor his own place in it. You just couldn’t help but think about how you’d gerried at twenty-five and have children. But as you progressed through middle and high school,

re gradually exposed to the inner mechanisms and reality of the world. This made you lower th

ndards of your idealistic visions. You couldn’t see your small dreams to realization; that’s thi

rld, I dare say…[1]

hen I had those thoughts, I suddenly ended up letting out a nihilistic chuckle. Zaimokuza sighed

avily and stiffly as if in agreement.

t there, I could hear a small cough overlap with a quiet voice.

veryone… I see.”

Mmm…”

urned and Yukinoshita who should’ve been reading her book glanced at me. But when our eyes

e abruptly turned her face away. On the other hand, Yuigahama who had been fiddling with her

lphone had stopped her fingers and froze with a troubled expression.

d again, the club room became quiet. Huh? What’s with this silence…?


11/156

I sat there restlessly in the awkward mood, Isshiki removed her gaze from her compact mirror

nced at us. She then let out a brief sigh. “…I don’t really care, but is it easy to enter a publish

was under the impression she hadn’t been listening since she had been ignoring Zaimokuza the e

me, but apparently, the conversation had reached her ears.

hen Isshiki asked, the stiff atmosphere finally dissolved. She probably wasn’t asking anyone in

rticular, but Yukinoshita tilted her head in contemplation. “I’ve heard that there’s a high barrie

ry for publishers…”

hh, it does sound pretty hard, huh?”

was doubtful that Yuigahama had any idea what the problem was. I wonder if this girl actually

ew what publishers did as a company in the first place…

any case, ignoring Yuigahama for the moment, Yukinoshita was right on. I recall hearing from m

ps that it’s considerably difficult finding employment at major mass media outlets. Now then,

e just how intent Zaimokuza is in challenging those places… I looked at Zaimokuza and he w

expectedly calm.

ndeed. I, too, have scoured the internet and it seems joining one is quite a task.” Zaimokuza gro

he crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. “However, I cannot comprehend it…

hat makes it so difficult…? Light novel editors can work even in their sleep. It is a simple job

yone can do. All you have to do is read completed manuscripts or send a mail to the people at

p rankings of ‘Let’s Be A Novelist’[2] and ask them to publish their works, yes?”

-Sure…”

wouldn’t have suspected the he was once someone who had aimed to become a light novel auth

m those thoughtless words of his, but well, it’s true that the work of light novel editors wasn’t

mmon knowledge, so this bias was unavoidable.

rmally speaking, a light novel editor was an exhausting job. Think about it, if they had to work

gether with people who thought pathetically like Zaimokuza, consider the gastritis, heartburn, a

manouchi[3] they had to deal with… The worse the light novel author, the more they blamed th

tors, too…

Well, you won’t know until you get a job at one,” I said.

imokuza then wagged his finger while clicking his tongue. This guy sure is annoying…

f course, I have already concocted plans regarding the job hunt.”

ou don’t say… Let’s hear them.”

here is no doubt that seeking employment as a new graduate will be difficult. But it is another


12/156

you are to transfer occupations. With someone of my caliber, I simply need to slip my way into

torial company or a low-key publisher and aim to be recruited as one with experience,” said

imokuza, chuckling with an incredibly, triumphant look. It’s a mystery why he seemed so

nvincing with that confident smug of his.

hh, he’s surprisingly thinking things through…”

it turned out, Yuigahama was easily deceived.

o, your first problem is how you’re going to get into those editorial companies and publishers

s proposal was the very image of a written career plan. Except, the only issue was how super

formed and unrealistic it was. As if spotting those loopholes, Yukinoshita squinted and made a

mplicated face. “In the first place, if we’re considering smaller to medium-sized companies, th

ouldn’t be actively recruiting…”

t not listening to things that were inconvenient to him were the EARS of Zaimokuza.

nd there, I thought. If I can amass editorial experience as a pupil, I can easily find employmentGaGa Bunko…”

ou’re underestimating GaGaGa too much…”

you say, but we’re talking about one of the three biggest companies in the country,

ogakukan, you know… He was looking down on the world so much that it was refreshing, but

t put that aside.

e issue was what followed.

s such, in order to accumulate that experience, I was thinking of creating a doujinshi.”

h huh. Yeah, well, do your best.”

mu… But currently, I have no ‘true comrade’[4] that I can create a doujinshi with… A ‘true

mrade’ that can see and hear the same things as I do…”

-Right…”

hat is with that cringeworthy phrase you’re using…? Now I’m getting bad vibes from him…

mbled from my bad premonition, as if to stop that shaking of mine, Zaimokuza placed his hand

y shoulders.

en, he showed me a smile that was bright enough to illuminate the world.

o… Hachiman, let us make one together!”

refuse. Also, I’m not your comrade.”


13/156

ur easygoing enthusiasm as if you were saying, “Isono, let’s play some baseball” [5] wasn’t eno

illuminate my world. I’d like to request for indefinite retirement here. Though, I’d be perfectly

th helping if I was compensated.

achimaaaaaaaaaaan! Were we not always comrades!? Why must you always be so cruel!?”

imokuza indignantly called me cruel over and over again. You really think I can go along with

ur nonsense all the time? As I ignored Zaimokuza’s grumbling, there was the folding sound of

mpact mirror.

hen I looked towards the sound, Isshiki who had either finished polishing herself up or checkin

er her appearance put away her mirror in her pouch. Then, she propped up her chin with her in

ger and tilted her head in contemplation. “Ummm, what’s a ‘doujinshi’?”

Well, to put it simply, it’s a self-made book. You write your own manga or something like that a

ke it into a book.”

…Right.”

hiki was still seeing question marks even after my explanation. I wasn’t a professional on the

bject myself, so I wasn’t sure how to explain it to her.

I struggled over the explanation, sitting diagonally from me, Yuigahama shot up her hands goi

e, me!”

know what it is! It’s called Comiket or something, right? The thing where you draw your own

nga. I think Hina talked about it before.”

hat’s a rather sloppy explanation. Also, Ebina-san’s hobbies are a bit special, but well, you’reright track,” I said.

is time, Yukinoshita had an unconvinced and doubtful look. “It doesn’t apply only to manga. W

ar the term, I have a stronger association with the field of literature and the arts.”

ight, there’s that, too.”

tually, if we’re going to trace the term back to its roots, even famous and great writers had

oduced their own books before. Literature like Shirakaba[6] and Garakuta Bunko were even ihool textbooks.

reality, doujinshis were expansive in scope and weren’t confined to just manga, but review bo

vestigative study books, or even photo albums. There were distinct genres as well as an extrem

riety of content out there.

so, when I mentioned review books, that ranged from critique books on military affairs to a re

nopsis of a previous cour anime. There were even books of rock-paper-scissor victories betw

nday anime[7], too. Furthermore, large-scale doujin activities went beyond just books and exte


14/156

cosplay, self-produced anime, drama CDs, and character goods. So, the scope was huge.

ight, so Comiket… Now that you mention it, I’ve heard about it before.”

you know about it, Raiden?[8] Well, Comiket’s been the focus on television and special progr

ently, so it wouldn’t be strange to know about its existence.

wever, Isshiki seemed to have a one-sided understanding of it.

n’t it, like, a place where you can make loooads of money?” She asked, leaning slightly forwa

en interest with sparkling eyes. Her movements were like that of a pure maiden, but what came

her mouth was completely terrible…

o, that’s not necessarily true. I hear they usually disregard their profits.”

ujinshi were first and foremost, “I make them because I like to”, so their objective was suppo

t for profit. That’s not to say I knew since I wasn’t clear on the details myself. But among the

merous circles who created doujinshi, if you factored in their sundry expenses, they typically

vered between the red and green, plus and minus, or zero.

…They don’t profit… but still do it?” Upon finishing, Isshiki groaned and began holding her he

ems she was having trouble understanding…

o it’s something like a world of hobbies.” Yukinoshita nodded. Well, for Yukinoshita who I co

agine spending money on her hobbies like tea, Pan-san the Panda, and cat merchandise, it migh

ually be up her alley.

hat kind of stuff is pretty amazing though, huh?” said Yuigahama, chewing her candy. Given thr, she seemed somewhat impressed even though she didn’t sound like it. She let out a sigh.

oujin activities aren’t anything rare. Actually, otaku aren’t the only ones who want to make bo

u know.”

ou think soooo?” Isshiki still had a skeptical voice. When we’re dealing with cultural things su

doujinshi that were foreign in nature to someone like Isshiki, her impressions were normal.

t there were other examples similar in concept.

here are things like free newspapers that university students make. Think of that,” I said.

igahama tapped her hands. “Oh, so something like those things they put up during school festiv

…Ohh, that I can understand.” Isshiki nodded as if she was able to form an image of it.

ight? Basically, free newspapers are overly-aware[9] types of doujinshi.”

earing you put it like that makes it sound incredibly questionable, but that’s a perfect way to pu


15/156

…” As if remembering something unpleasant, Yukinoshita pressed firmly against her temple.

hat a coincidence, when I mentioned “overly-aware”, my head kind of went blank there, too.

n any case, there might be some BIAS when it comes to FREE NEWSPAPERS, but I think we

naged to come to a mutual CONCENSUS. Of course, when we’re talking about FREE

EWSPAPERS, it’s on a CASE BY CASE BASIS, so in order for us to reach a clear

GREEMENT, the only thing we can do hereafter is to look at them each with TRIAL AND ERR

an INFLUENCER, that way, we can COMMIT on something with the result.”

enpai, what the heck are you saying…?” Isshiki winced. It kind of looked like she had backed

w centimeters away from the back of my chair.

h, sorry. My awareness went overboard for an instant there…”

may have been better if it had just gone somewhere else instead…” Yukinoshita sighed in

oundment.

her way, we were now all on the same page that doujinshis were hobbyist things.

ople who created free newspapers were more or less no different from doujin circles. In other

rds, they were an otaku genre for “overly-aware types”.

had to say, doujinshis existed on just the numbers of genres and on the numbers of people.

o, what kind of book are you looking to make?” I asked Zaimokuza.

thought silently for a moment. Then, he lifted his face with a crisp face and opened his mouth

umu. I suppose it’ll have to be a novel… I am not knowledgeable about anything in particular n

I possess the ability to draw.”

s reasons were way too pathetic.

’t it about time you stop with that hackneyed “since I can’t draw, I’ll become a light novel auth

nd…? At the very least, I want you to aim to become a light novel author with a proper reason

don’t think I’ll be able to find employment, so I’ll become a light novel author instead!”

n the end, it’s going to be a light novel… If you really want to write one, there’s plenty of ways

them published on the internet. Like what you mentioned earlier, ‘Let’s Be a Novelist!’ or

hatever. Actually, I think you’d have higher chances of debuting if you tried there.”

rare as it was for me, I gave Zaimokuza some constructive advice, but he didn’t seem very ke

out it. “Mmm… I cannot say I like that place very much.”

Why not? Try it, it’s pretty darn popular right now, right? Parallel Universe Reincarnation Peer

eaRem.”


16/156

…Huh?”

e instant I uttered that, Isshiki let out a low voice as if she was saying, “What the heck is this g

ying…?”

hat’s with that look? How irritating… Did I say something weird just now? I thought, and it

ned out I did.

e girls huddled their chairs together in a group and began whispering in deliberation.

arallel, Universe? Chea? What did he say just now…?”

heRem… what’s that?”

Maybe he means cheetaras?”

fined snacks you’re into there, Isshiki.

rallel Universe Reincarnation Peerless CheaRem recites the tale of the protagonist beingncarnated in a parallel world while building a harem through his peerless, cheating powers. C

ing to explain it made no sense to me at all.

ell, it’s something that should just be enjoyed by those who liked it. There’s no need to forcefu

plain it to people who weren’t interested nor was it something that everyone needed to underst

rallel Universe Reincarnation Cheating stories were originally similar to light novels, so it’s f

as long the people who liked them were happy with them.

d this didn’t apply to just light novels.

applied to everything. Words, or even feelings.

long those things were able to reach the one person you wanted to convey them to or make hap

t’s more than enough.

t I wonder why? It just wasn’t getting through to Zaimokuza-san at all.

en now, he was ignoring what we were saying and was wriggling his arms and legs as if

sperately holding something in.

rghhhh! That is not the issue! It is not about popularity or how well-received it is! I do not car

out that at all, it does not bother me at all! It’s just, um, you know? How should I put it!? I do n

e the idea of being confined to things like rankings and standings! Like, I do not want people

ticizing my work behind a screen or something!”

was almost deluded into thinking he had uttered something cool for an instant there, but there w

sorts of curious words coming out of his mouth. And one answer came to mind.


17/156

hh. Huh? Do they display the rankings there? Well, I guess it might be a little too rough seeing

popular your work is, huh?”

o! Absolutely not! Rankings, standings, ratings, and reviews do not bother me in the slightest!

ings like rankings are nothing more than a metric! The rest need only be covered with courage

d Zaimokuza, eagerly.

wever, in the end, there were just some things you couldn’t cover with courage alone. With ho

nsparent he was being about the thing he was concerned about, he was completely see-through

…Oh. So, your spirit broke from actually submitting something, huh?”

hat’s some growth on his part considering the amount of resolve you’d need to show somethin

at to the public.”

ep, yep, he’s got the guts.”

kinoshita and Yuigahama looked both surprised and impressed as they complimented Zaimoku

t just to make sure, you guys were complimenting him, right? Right? Because I was completelyder the impression you guys were being incredibly sarcastic there! Then again, this was

kinoshita we’re talking about here, of course she’s being sarcastic!

however, was in the mood to praise Zaimokuza.

e’re talking about a man who could never even finish a manuscript, much less submit an entry t

okie of the Year award. While it might’ve been just on the internet, he still had uploaded his w

a public domain. When I think about how there’s going to be other people who’d suffer from

ding his work besides me, I felt ecstatic. Everyone should just suffer more. If everyone suffergether, the world would definitely turn peaceful.

so I thought, but Zaimokuza shook his hand back and forth in a rejecting notion. “No, I did noth

the sort. It is my impression after seeing another person’s work get damned to hell.”

h, okay…”

oks we’re still a long way from world peace.

at’s Zaimokuza for you. His title of a pathetic wannabe wasn’t for show. No wait, let’s think a

his way; for him to be this empathetic from seeing someone else’s work get bashed to pieces w

tament to his considerable sensitivity. Surprisingly, he might have the aptitude to become a

iter…

wever, I personally believe that the most important aspect of being a light novel writer wasn’t

lity to write or to compose, and certainly not even a rich imagination; it’s to not be sensitive.

hat’s important was to have a mentality of steel.


18/156

u wouldn’t lose regardless of what was said to you; you wouldn’t give in even if you didn’t se

u wouldn’t say anything unnecessary on your blog or Twitter; you wouldn’t get carried away e

you managed to get some sales; you wouldn’t get disheartened when people mocked you; you

uldn’t get involved in disputes of one thing or another when they happen; you wouldn’t look

ectly at a situation that got out of hand; you wouldn’t exaggerate your own ability; you wouldn

ieve in yourself from the start; you wouldn’t worry about your future and your age catching up

u; you wouldn’t cry on a lonely night; you wouldn’t raise your expectations when receiving

nderful news; you wouldn’t let numbers from other places bother you; you wouldn’t resign if y

pped being able to write; you wouldn’t run away from deadlines; and you wouldn’t forget topreciate your surroundings.

ese NAI-NAI 16[10] things were necessary components in your mentality to become a light nov

hor.

e strength of your mentality—that’s the most important. I think the light novel As Long I Had a

tle Sister had that written in it. No, maybe it didn’t. Yeah, it probably didn’t.

t since Zaimokuza was neither professional nor gutsy, I had to lead him down a path that wasssle-free! His mentality was completely like plain tofu that I’d recommend having hot pot this

ason.

raightened my posture and cleared my throat. With a voice calmer than normal, I said, “Zaimo

s likely your doujinshi won’t sell a single copy. Don’t you think it’d be less painful if you look

lity?”

imokuza stammered, imagining the likelihood of that occurring. Whether it’s enduring the heat

summer convention or the cold of the winter convention, the feeling of being by yourself at yooth, listening in on the amiable voices of the cosplay girls at the nearby booths, watching a hug

e form at the circle in front of you, and looking up at the ceiling because you couldn’t stand fac

ur own doujinshis that didn’t sell a single copy… Could Zaimokuza handle such a situation? N

y absolutely not.

entually, Zaimokuza’s shoulders dropped and as if mustering out his voice, he said, “…You ha

int.”

you’re aiming to become an editor, it’d be more constructive to think of other methods instead

king a doujinshi.”

umu… I see, I see…” Zaimokuza answered honestly as if his spirit was broken from my press

rds. Good, good, now I won’t have to worry about making a doujinshi with Zaimokuza…

ce Zaimokuza who had a loud voice earlier turned docile, the room was submerged in silence

t a sigh of relief now that we had finished this issue. Then, there was the sound of crackers bein

omped.

ut hey, how do you even become an editor?” said Yuigahama, chewing.


19/156

imokuza lifted his face. “Indeed, that is true…”

w that they brought it up, I was interested as well.

guess we should look it up…”

Zaimokuza had so elegantly stated earlier, everything was on the internet. That included thing

ouldn’t be on there.

ukinoshita, let me use the computer.”

…We aren’t a computer room.” Yukinoshita mumbled as she stood up. She took out the laptop a

omptly prepared it for me.

aced the laptop looking to ask Google-sensei some questions and a chair was placed down nex

.

hen I looked to my right, Yukinoshita was sitting in the chair and digging through her bag to tak

r glasses.

ter gently lifting up her glossy, black hair, she carefully wore her glasses as if she was putting

ra.

r slender and supple fingertips slowly moved away from the frame of her glasses. Whenever s

nked, her long eyelashes looked like they were close enough to brush the lenses. Once she had

ished preparing, without facing anyone in particular, she nodded and quietly scooted the chair

ok at the laptop.

doing so, her hair would flutter with the sweet fragrance of SABON[11].

ose…

th her sitting right next to me, I had this strange, itchy discomfort that caused me to wrestle my

dy to the left so I could get comfortable. But when I did that, my nose was greeted with a faint

lingering citrus.

fore I had even realized, Yuigahama made her way around to my left and was sitting.

e leaned her body forward as if to rest her chin on the table. Every time our elbows lightly bum

ch other, we’d exchange glances telling the other to make some space.

t just when I thought she’d open up some room, Yuigahama would avert her eyes and our posit

uld stay the same. In that case, I had to do the moving, but when I felt the hems of my blazer

bbing past her skirt, I was unable to move any farther.

Close.


20/156

rthermore, there was another presence behind me.

door sandals squeaked against the floor.

hen I turned my head around, Isshiki was standing behind me. She peeked her head past the tip

y shoulder to look at the screen of the computer.

e sensation of her hands which she placed on my shoulders as if to lightly entrust her weight on

ne and her body warmth made me strangely conscious and even her shallow breathing had reac

y ears. Thanks to that, chills ran up my spine.

Like I said, you’re too damn close.

th my flanks and my rear occupied, my only option was to pitch forward.

t even my front was sealed off.

imokuza came directly to my front and looked down on the laptop as if he was some kind of gi

d yokai.


21/156


22/156

u’re too close, get away from me.

essured in almost all directions, I huddled my shoulders together while typing in the keywords

me to mind. Numerous search results immediately displayed onscreen.

job hunting site with a job hunting bulletin board… Ohh, a prep school for job searching in

blication… They have all sorts of stuff, huh?”

h Hikki, how about this one?”

I scanned several notable links, Yuigahama leaned forward with her body and pointed at the

een. Then, Yukinoshita also inclined her head this way and read the entry that Yuigahama had

dicated.

journal of successful experiences… It looks like… the blog of someone who received unoffic

fers from actual publishers. I suppose that should be fine.”

enpai, hurry, hurry.” Isshiki rushed me as she tapped my shoulders.

ain, you’re too close. I’m getting all sweaty now too, so could you, like, back up fifteen

ntimeters away from me or something…?

ave Zaimokuza a look of what to do and he nodded. “Umu, let us have a look!”

…Alright, let’s check this one then.”

licked the aforementioned link and the top page of the journal of successful experiences loade

screen.

e header had “Absolute Best Unofficial Offers! kenken’s Journal of “Successful” Job Hun

periences at Publishers!!” displayed as the title.

…Hey, what does it mean by ‘best unofficial offers’? Are there best and worst unofficial offers

mething?”

old on.”

hen I asked, Yukinoshita extended out her hand to the mouse from my side. She opened up a

ferent tab and began searching for best unofficial offers and so forth. While she was doing that

ng black hair would brush and tickle the back of my hand. Naturally, I withdrew my hands to m

ees and sat in a well-mannered pose.

ce her search displayed the results, she pointed. “It seems like it refers to an unpublicized rank

prospective employees within the company. The best offers seem to be referring to the ones at

p of those rankings. Upon entry into the company, they’ll be treated as executive trainees and th

o have the advantage in where they are assigned… or so it says.”


23/156

ou know, just hearing ‘executive trainees’ gets me a little worried…”

at sounds like a sweatshop if I ever heard one. It sounded as worrisome as slogans like “The

ling of being at home!” or “The young generation are showing great efforts!” Now I was becom

ncerned about what lie ahead in kenken’s future.

ell then, having already witnessed something frightening, we might as well follow along this ke

whatever’s path of glory to see if he’s able to wonderfully become a corporate slave of a pub

ough his best unofficial offers.

e scrolled down the screen and decided to read the journal entries one by one.

bsolute Best Unofficial Offers! kenken’s Journal of “Successful” Job Hunting Experienc

blishers!!”

is blog will discuss the process of getting the best unofficial offers from publishers one by

e!

All rights reserved @ke

Filling Out The Job Application

’s a strange acronym, isn’t it (lol)?

n the applications, there are standard questions that ask you to provide a short CV, your

tory, and your motive for applying. Besides those, there are also questions unique to ever

mpany such as: write an essay or comedy skits on three topics, recent news that intereste

u, three people who are currently the center of attention, your most embarrassing story o

lure, etc… Sometimes, they have eccentric parts as well such as having blank white page

king you, “Please use this space to describe yourself.”

b offices also store past JA’s as well, so one effective strategy is to ask upperclassmen fr

minar or a club to let you see theirs!

an addendum, regarding the CV…

cently, there have been many job applications that do not have a university name listed,

u will not always be put through an academic filter. As a matter of fact, I have champione

e stance against the very existence of academic filters from the start. Many students who

re extended unofficial offers from famous companies were from well-known universities

eel the reason for this is only because said students happened to attend a well-known sch

d was chosen based on their hidden potential and not the brand or strength of their alma


24/156

ater.

rhaps many companies will begin to recruit people by evaluating them on a much more eq

d personal level without any bias.

nversely, perhaps we, the job seekers, also should not judge a company based on their br

their name value. It is possible that being aware of the fact that the companies and job

ekers share a mutual position in selecting each other may be the key to success.

want to send this saying to everyone.

When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” (Nietzsche)

h… It’s actually written quite decently based on a quick look. Actually, why was kenken send

words of Nietzsche to us? I honestly would prefer Nietzsche himself doing that.

kinoshita who had been looking at the blog together with me nodded her head as she continued

ding. But Yuigahama and Isshiki had a disgusted expression and looked slightly hesitant.

’s so wordy…” Yuigahama murmured.

u won’t be able to read Conan if this amount is enough to get you down. There might be a lo

rds, but interesting things are still interesting!

hile thinking that, my shoulder was tapped repeatedly in irritation.

his is kinda annoying, isn’t it…?” said Isshiki in dissatisfaction and continued tapping my shou

th her fingertips. Alright, let’s stop tapping my shoulder now, okay?

t well, Isshiki’s feelings were understandable. Somehow, I was getting fed up with this person

iting.

s a mystery as to why he was acting so high and mighty, but his content sounded like something

u’d hear from an overly-aware university student. Just the thought of university having a lot of

ople made me not want to go…

at being said, this kenken person or whatever was considerably pretty out there from the start.

otivation was just going to disappear If his entries after this one were going to be just as

husiastic. KinKi Kids[12] or Yoshida Terumi[13] were the only ones I could think of that had th

uch energy.

umu… I see, I see. I understand it now, more or less. Hachiman, proceed to the next!”

s doubtful that Zaimokuza actually really understood anything, but I nodded back and clicked toxt page.


25/156

Written Exams

any publishers test on general knowledge, but there are some who give out SPI tests. The

l workbooks for both types of tests, so it would be wise to prepare with them beforehand

dinary companies, SPI is required. In addition, you may have to take the SPI test if you ar

anging occupations. There is no harm in preparing for it as well. As for the written portio

e exam, based on my personal experiences, Company S and Company K asked good extenestions while Bookstore K asked bad questions that were focused on failing you. So for th

ho are trying Bookstore K, beware!

hile he appeared calm, he slipped in some words of resentment towards Bookstore K… Judgin

s, this kenken or whatever likely failed at Bookstore K.

achiman, what is SPI? A spy?”

hen Zaimokuza’s voice came down from above, Yuigahama reacted. “Isn’t that some kind of

gazine? Since it’s a publisher, I guess you have to read that, huh?”

What you’re talking about is the ‘SPA!’ magazine…”

“SPA!” test? What the heck is that? Are they going to tell me to “answer with the top thirty

oza stores @Shinbashi” or something? The frightening thing was that the publishers could ea

k you questions you’d get on Quiz Champions

[14]

.

t I wasn’t very knowledgeable on the subject of SPI exams myself, so when I was in a bind wi

swering, Yukinoshita quietly reached out to the laptop. She opened another tab and began searc

SPI tests.

hen she finally stumbled upon a relevant page, she slowly moved her hand to her chin and nodd

o put it simply, SPI is a type of aptitude test. It seems like… they measure a set of skills such a

ur logical reasoning, calculative thinking, and communication ability as well as your character

ough a personality assessment.”

kinoshita consolidated the important points and explained while pushing up her glasses with h

ddle finger. But for Yuigahama, it didn’t seem to make much sense since her mouth was agape.

hhhh… so you’re saying it’s like a psychological test or something? I totally get that!” said

igahama brightly, and she turned towards Yukinoshita.

kinoshita then looked away in the opposite direction as if she had given up on something. “…W

uppose that understanding is good enough.”


26/156

o, that’s definitely wrong.”

ukinoshita-senpai, please don’t give up on explaining…” said Isshiki.

if having second thoughts, Yukinoshita closed her eyes and started to think.

I suppose. I’m sure even Yuigahama-san can understand if I give more thought to my explanati

a way that Yuigahama-san can understand… In a way that Yuigahama-san can understand…”

kinoshita muttered in whispers while earnestly contemplating.

eing that, Yuigahama’s shoulders dropped. “Yukinon’s kindness kinda hurts…”

ell, trying to explain or understand a test you had never taken before might be difficult. In this c

u had to take these tests for yourself to actually understand them. Whether we like it or not, we

d to take these tests someday eventually. Ughh, I really don’t want to look for a job…

wever, it’s reassuring that you could prepare for these written exams beforehand.

here’s something difficult in the process, it’d be the “interviews” that were in the upcomingries.

w, just how was kenken going to get past this obstacle? I proceeded to the next entry to see wh

d in store for us.

The First Interview

ere are occasions where you’ll be interviewed in a group.

ere was this guy at Big K that kept butting in and trying to provoke me. He was seriously

noying. I’ll resent that guy forever.

at was all that was written. You’re suddenly neglecting your explanations now, aren’t you,

nken? But you’re still making sure to put down your resentment though, aren’t you, kenken?

imokuza made second looks at the meager content.

oohn? Hachiman, is there nothing more written?”

ooks like it. Let’s look at the next one.”

th so little written, there wasn’t much information we could gain from it.

ter checking with Yukinoshita and the others, I moved the mouse and clicked to the next page.


27/156

The Second Interview

hen I gave my reason for applying, this guy from Company F was trying to piss me off by

ling me, “Okay, good job on being able to say that! ^^”. He was probably some kind of c

itor or something, though. I definitely won’t forgive that guy.

e entry at this point just threw all explanations out the window and was littered with nothing b

entment

following kenken’s job hunting experiences that gradually worsened, a dry laugh started to we

ide of me.

ould hear my neighbor Yukinoshita sigh. “There’s less and less detailed information every entr

anything, he’s getting more specific about things that don’t really matter…” Isshiki made a wrile in wonder.

t as these two said, kenken was providing less and less information and seemed to have been

eaking down at the same time. Even I was on the verge of keeling over while reading this. Loo

a job sure sounds hard…

t this was just the second interview. There was still more left to his journal of successful

periences.

made a large stretch, readied myself, and proceeded to the next entry.

The Third Interview

e stress interview. There were about 10 middle-aged men employees at Company K. It w

d. There might’ve been 20 of them. It was really bad.

w kenken wasn’t even complaining anymore. His initial enthusiasm had disappeared in a puff

oke and he was already at death’s door. If anything, I wanted to commend his mental strength f

ng out of his way to put up all this information.

t just the mention of a stress interview made you feel the considerable pressure associated wit

en in this brief entry, the fear and despair of how bad it the interviews went were quite appare

e could only imagine it, but interviewing with the employees of a company sounds super hard.


28/156

u had a bunch of distinguished old men with many years under their belt wearing black suits w

ominent titles like board member, company executive, management director, and executive dir

ing side by side, isn’t that just SEELE[15]? This wasn’t just any Impact, it’s the Third Impact.

sounds kinda hard…” Yuigahama whispered, her voice mixed with sympathy and grief. I, too

ling similarly miserable.

looks like there’s still more…” said Yukinoshita, slightly in pain. It almost even sounded as i

s suggesting us to not look any further.

t we had come this far, so we should—no, we had to see it through to the end. I operated the m

th my shaking hand and clicked to the final entry.

The Final Interview

ose mass-res bastards lied about how the last interview was just to confirm your intent to

ply and not something you’d fail in. Don’t screw with me. They normally just failed me.

e journal of experiences stopped there.

actly what happened to kenken in the end? Just thinking about his fate caused my chest to tighte

was seemingly not the only one as everyone else had also let out a profound sigh.

s like feeling guilty from peeking into the small blue print of a single person’s life or feeling

pless after being witness to the frontlines in the war of job hunting.

t beyond that, I felt this strong desire of not wanting to work with the person who had made thi

urnal. He was so full of enthusiasm at the beginning, but in the middle, he was mostly just cursi

d complaining…

m… so, like, did this person even pass?” Isshiki asked in modest.

igahama then realized and looked at the display again. “You’re right! He even called it a

ccessful experiences’ journal, too!”

hh, it’s probably that. They basically just write ‘successful’ in advance. It’s like a rule of attra

d it’s something like image training that overly-aware people tend to like.”

sounds more like something for self-enlightenment than it is for image training…” said Yukin

she pressed against her temple.

ell, there certainly was a component about job hunting that pertained to self-enlightenment… I


29/156

an, when we were surfing the web earlier, there were these gaudy phrases like self-reflection

f-PR, the desire to grow, and other stuff. Sure, it might be unavoidable since companies were

oking for human resources with a tenacious and strong mentality, but the way everyone was try

hibit a similarly, colorful personality was extremely unnatural that it’s scary.

w that I know this much, it doesn’t sound like an industry I’d be able to work in… As my m

work desire went rock bottom, Zaimokuza who was standing in front of me spoke to me with a

all voice. “Hachiman, what is mass-res? Is that something like the Chiba-dog[16]?”

hey’re nothing alike. Which Chiba dog are you talking about here?”

iba-dog was a character mascot of the Chiba Prefecture Environment Foundation and was a do

sed on the geographical shape of Chiba Prefecture. Putting it that way, you might think it might

milar to CHI-BA+KUN, but they’re surprisingly different creatures. Chiba-dog had dog in its n

it didn’t resemble one at all. As a matter of fact, the mysteriously named creature that looked

og CHI-BA+KUN was much more dog-like. Just what’s going on with Chiba’s tastes? This

efecture’s way too rocky.

stening, Yukinoshita tilted her head in thought. “Well, it’s most likely short for mass media res

ciety.”

esearch… It sounds like they’d totally do a lot of experiments.” Yuigahama murmured as she

red up at the ceiling. She was probably imagining all sorts of related things to research. But

hama-san’s imagination of wearing a coat while holding flasks and beakers was probably

staken, I think!

wever, it’s true that the word “research” didn’t refer to anything in particular, so it’s rather ha

agine it. It’s easy if it’s about scientific techniques or history, but for mass media research, not

uch came to mind.

…I guess we should try looking up mass-res then.”

ndeed. Do as you must!”

nce Zaimokuza gave me a reassuring agreement while flapping his coat like Professor Clark, I

omptly asked Google-sensei for the answer.

ntered a random university name, added a space, and appended “mass-res”.

ter submitting the phrase, there we had it, there we had it. On display were all these overly-aw

rases. They had a photo of people in suits introducing themselves decorated with their favorite

tto along for self-promotion. After that, there were tons of comments of support from their frie

addition, there were photos of them taking a trip to India, mountain climbing at Mount Fuji, a B

ining camp for job hunting, so I had no idea what it was that they were researching.

losed my eyes halfway as I read because looking at the page directly was just too much for me


30/156

entually, I had a general understanding of what the club was about.

sically, it was a club that gathered people who sought for employment at television broadcast

tions, newspaper companies, or publishers. There, they’d exchange information and teach othe

olproof methods to succeed in securing employment.

-Hey, Hachiman, must I enter one of these mass-res clubs in order to enter a publisher? Must I

lly? Absolutely?” Zaimokuza trembled in fear as he looked upon the photos of bliss.

Well, I wouldn’t say it’s absolute. I actually think you’d be better off not joining something like

sed on the homepage alone…”

m sure amongst the many clubs that promoted themselves as mass media or advertising research

cieties, there were some who actually did what they were supposed to do.

t just hearing overly-aware stuff like that made me think of Sir Tamanawa, the student council

esident of Kaihin Sogo High, so I just couldn’t hold a positive image at all.

I looked at the website, a particular sentence grabbed my attention.

…Actually, Zaimokuza, I don’t think you’ll be able to get in.”

m, why?”

ointed at the corner of the screen. Displayed there was, “Entrance Exam.” They had a written t

t asked general knowledge questions and the names of several club members beside the club

esident that you needed to interview with.

pparently you’ll need to take a written test and go through interviews to join this mass-res club

hatever.”

apped on the relevant part of the screen with my finger and Isshiki looked down. With an apath

ice, she said, “Ahh, I guess it’s impossible then…”

mhm… Hachiman. I am not a master when it comes to interviews…”

know.”

ore than I’d like to anyway… But I also happened to be pretty poor at interviews. There was a

me where I nonchalantly failed an interview of nothing for a part-time job, so not only did I run

my duties at part-time jobs, I also ran away from interviews.

I nostalgically drowned in my useless nature as a human being from the past, Isshiki stretched

r hands all the way to the laptop from behind me and fiddled with it. She then let out a voice of

lization as if convinced of something.

uestioned her with a look wondering what happened. Isshiki then nodded. “But you know, wou


31/156

i-senpai totally pass something like this?”

uh, why’s that? I’m totally bad with tests, though…” Surprised from the sudden call, Yuigaham

t a discorded voice. As she looked at Isshiki with blinking eyes, Isshiki scrolled down on the

een.

h, no. Just looking at this picture gives me the feeling they’re kinda similar to us, so I thought i

super easy since they’d probably let cute people in.”

Well, that’s fair.”

we put aside the written exam, Yuigahama seems like she’d be good with interviews. She coul

obably communicate with those enthusiastic, go-go guys.

hen I nodded to Isshiki’s statement, Yuigahama who found it surprising to be evaluated like tha

ushed. As she rubbed the hair bun on her head, she shot glances at me. “R-Really?”

eah. If it’s you, Yuigahama, you seem like you could fit right in with this annoying happy-go-lu

mosphere.”

hat’s your reason!? I got happy for nothing…” Yuigahama dropped her shoulders and looked a

, no, it’s not like I said you weren’t cute or anything, yes. I was just saying that if it’s you, y

uld easily fit in with these enthusiastic, go-go university students, yes. It’s just, you know, I

n’t think it’s a good thing if you let those people drag you into their pace!

Well, how about this? Uh, people judge you based on your appearance, but what’s important is

ide… In fact, I’d say it’s better to avoid these clubs that evaluate you based on your appearanc

d enthusiasm. Probably, not that I’d know.”

h? Mmm, well, I guess so. Yeah…” Yuigahama didn’t seem to be in full agreement, but she

uctantly nodded and turned back my way.

stening from beginning to end, Isshiki blurted out in a small voice as if appalled. “…Senpai, yo

per bad at following up.”

zz off. If I was good at it, I wouldn’t be ditching my interviews at all.

nside, huh…? In that case, I’m not sure what to think of a gathering of only people with the sam

ues. I can’t imagine them seeking to grow if they’re enclosed in a homogenous and monopoliz

vironment…” Yukinoshita who had been lending her ear to the conversation from the side look

website and opened her mouth in doubt.

imokuza then hit his hand. “…Hapon. So what you are saying is, if I were to give an example,

oducer of a certain game company makes a game that completely bombs because he readily de

make a game out of an original work of some other publisher and refusing to publish a game du

w hard it’d be with the game being copyrighted by other companies due to a certain, super gianblisher monopolizing the game magazines…! I presume it is something of that nature?”


32/156

have no idea what you’re saying because you’re talking about all this complicated stuff, and I’

e you’re talking about something entirely else, but that’s probably it.”

esponded appropriately indicating what the heck are you talking about—in short, what the—an

imokuza made a big nod. “As I thought! The truth is written on the internet, after all!’

ow, the internet is amazing. What do you search for that to come up? Damn this master of

arch. Still, for generations to come, I had the feeling search experts would become a necessity

alent of the current generation.

hen I became impressed—in a certain sense— with him, Zaimokuza blazed in an aura of

mbativeness. “…Damn them! So the one truly at fault for my undiscovered talent and my inabil

ke a debut is the evil empire, a certain, super giant gigantic publisher, and their monopoly of t

rketplace, correct!?”

ou’re wrong.”

ah, yeah, just start writing first, okay?


33/156

1-2

e took a break for tea time and convened again in front of the laptop.

nce the earlier “Absolute Best Unofficial Offers! kenken’s Journal of “Successful” Job Hunting

periences at Publishers!!” wasn’t very informative, we decided to look for other similar webs

some of the job hunting websites, there were comments from people with actual jobs and com

plication overviews, so they turned out to be good references.

d on them, we came across some shocking figures.

he success rates for major publishers are really crazy… Thousands of people apply and only

een of them are employed…?”

here’s no precise number on the total number of applicants since it isn’t formally announced, b

ould be about two hundred to three hundred times that amount.”

ter hearing the numbers Yukinoshita gave from an approximate calculation, Yuigahama sighed

miration. “Woow, becoming an editor sounds really tough.”

his is just the total number of people employed, so if we take other department assignments int

nsideration, the number of people who can become a publishing editor should be less.”

kinoshita’s statement was plausible. There are likely people who belonged to general affairs a

es operations, so the editorial department should vary as well. For the light novel division tha

imokuza was aiming for in particular, there’d be at most one or two people. For new employe

y got unlucky, it’s possible they wouldn’t be delegated to any departments.

M-Mmph… G-Gununu… If that is how things are, becoming a light novel author seems far

mpler…”

Maybe.”

we consider the success rates alone, it might just be easier to work as a light novel author for

GaGa Bunko. They didn’t interview light novel authors there, after all.

hile we’re at it, we might as well check on the success rates of making your debut as a light no

hor at GaGaGa Bunko. When I reached my hand out to search, my hand was grabbed from beh

-Senpai, pl-please wait a moment.”

hiki’s voice was trembling when she stopped my hand.

Wh-What’s wrong?” I asked.


34/156

ing “Mm! Mm!”, Isshiki wagged the tip of her finger and pointed at the screen.

ook at this! Look!”

hat’s the deal…? I thought. When I looked, she was pointing at a comment made by an employ

m a certain publisher. He introduced himself and provided information on his job: the univers

aduated from, what his job entailed, an approximate time schedule of one working day a week,

forth. As I followed the lines one by one, my eyes stopped at one.

salary of ten million yen at age twenty five…”

u’ve got to be lying, no way. Major publishers really are amazing… Only three years out of

iversity and he was already making that much? On top of that, he gets raises while he gets p

at salary? This guy’s like a total winner…

at there trembling in shock and I could hear deep breathing noises from behind. When I turned

ound, Isshiki placed her left hand to her cheek and showed a sweet and poppy smile. “I’m goin

rry a publishing editor.”

o, wait, calm down. If anything, I’m the one that’s going to marry a publishing editor.”

ou’re the one that needs to calm down…”

hen Yukinoshita told me in disbelief, I came back to my senses. Indeed, I might’ve lost my

mposure there. On second thought, ten million yen wasn’t that amazing. I’m Hachiman, so that

ans there’s eighty thousand of me. That was exactly enough for one hundred and twenty-five of

agine how annoying it’d be with that many of me. That’s why ten million wasn’t that big of a d

s more than enough by myself and it’s exactly because I was alone that there was value!

I nodded to my own mysterious logic used to convince myself, Yuigahama on the side groane

ditor… Editor, huh… Mmm…”

Well, isn’t having some kind of goal in itself a good thing? I’ve been trying hard everyday towa

y goal since a while ago, after all.”

oh, a goal…” I gave Isshiki a scrutinizing glance to see what she truly meant when she had utt

mething so unlike her.

t there, she placed her index finger to her chin and tilted her head. “Of course, I plan on retirin

er several years by getting married, you know?”

ust where exactly are you putting in the effort…?” said Yukinoshita, sighing.

hiki puffed her cheeks. “I mean, I’m not very good at studying and there isn’t anything I want to

…”

totally get you. I’m like that, too…” Yuigahama dropped her shoulders and slumped over. Issh


35/156

nfirmed with her from behind. And as if realizing something, she lifted her head and looked at

kinoshita.

h, but Yukinoshita-senpai, you seem like you’ll jump straight into working.”

kinoshita blinked her eyes to her unexpected statement.

m…” Yukinoshita stumbled, thinking the subject wouldn’t be directed to her. Her open lips w

the verge of saying something only to be promptly sealed shut.

hen she averted her eyes down, her long eyelashes curved downwards. In doing that, her hair

oothly swayed, giving a glimpse of her slender neck as well as highlighting her white skin, cau

to instinctively catch my breath.

r hands that were atop her skirt in a well-mannered fashion moved ever so slightly and she

icately squeezed her fingers little by little.

wonder. That’s what I thought before… But now, I’m not so sure yet,” Yukinoshita lifted her f

d said, wearing a smile as though she was embarrassed.

Well, I guess sooo. It’s still something much later in the future, after all.” Isshiki said lighthearte

hiki stated lightheartedly, but no voice followed after hers.

hink Yuigahama and I hadn’t been listening to her.

cause Yukinoshita’s answer had been a little unexpected.

ere weren’t very many students who could give a straightforward answer regarding their futur

wever, I thought—just somewhat vaguely—that Yukinoshita had already properly thought out

ure. Perhaps I might’ve just been selfishly forcing my illusions on her, but even so, an unusual

nse of discomfort was lodged in my heart.

ested my cheeks in my hands on the table and made a sidelong glance at Yukinoshita. When she

ticed, she tilted her head curiously at me, waiting for me to say something.

e looked at me inquisitively with an “um…” and I lightly shook my head, telling her that it’sthing. She then retracted her chin and nodded back.

Well, even Yukinoshita’s just a second year in high school. There’s nothing wrong with her

ving figured out what she wanted to for the future yet. In fact, if she’s choosing not to say

ything because it’s still unclear to her, that can be her reason, too.

hen I reached that point in my mind, I gulped down the sense of discomfort and moved my gaze

ward.

y eyes then met with Zaimokuza who had been groaning with his arms crossed. “Hachiman, wh


36/156

out you?”

m, me?”

don’t think there’s any point in asking Hikki…” Yuigahama looked at me with cold eyes and I

dded back.

Well, I guess. Fundamentally, I want to be a full-time house husband.”

ep, I knew it…”

suggest looking up what ‘fundamentally’ means…”

igahama hung her head while Yukinoshita pressed her temple with closed eyes. There, Isshiki

ped my shoulder. When I turned around, her eyes sparkled and as if to talk in secret, she place

nd to her mouth and whispered near my ears. “Senpai, I recommend becoming an editor.”

won’t become one, I won’t work, and I won’t look for a job.” I answered, while twisting my b

get away from the fluffy smell of Anna Sui and her ticklish breaths.

esides, it’s not that easy to become a publishing editor. Well, if you started trying hard now, th

t’s a different story.”

muu, for just how many years must I try from this point on… That sounds painful…”

imokuza held his head as he groaned. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, his back straightened, and

ared.

…Indeed, it is not an easy feat to become a light novel author! I knew it, light novel authors are

UMBER ONE! Now then, Hachiman, we cannot dawdle any longer! Let us begin on a new piec

rk!”

fore he finished, Zaimokuza ran to the door. He stopped at the door and then turned around.

achimaaan! Hurry, hurry!”

th how he was hopping up and down and calling to me, he clearly looked like someone suspic

t for him to have that kind of cheerful smile, it’s a mystery why it felt so pleasant.

Why don’t you go with him?”

ep, yep.”

kinoshita and Yuigahama said with wry smiles.

…Well, I’m in charge of him, so I guess I ought to.” I deliberately stated to give up and make m

cision and stood up.


37/156

the same time, as for Irohasu, she was fiddling with the computer and searching something.

wonder if free newspapers are pretty easy to do…?”

u are way too indifferent towards Zaimokuza, you know…


38/156

1-3

e sky I gazed up at from the window seat was blue and refreshingly clear. Yet strangely enough

t awfully bleak and didn’t feel warm at all. Perhaps this was the effects of the noiseless

mosphere in the library.

th no other patrons besides us, the library after school was near empty. It’s likely there’s a lib

istant beyond the circulation desk, but the person showed no signs of appearing.

ting to my diagonal opposite, Zaimokuza had been grinding his mechanical pencil against his n

a while now, but eventually halted.

her he had run out of steam or was all out of ideas, Zaimokuza momentarily sat there in a daze

ddenly, he said, “Fumu, must I become a light novel author in the end, after all…? I will be un

marry a voice actor.”

ou’re excluding most occu pations if marrying a voice actor is a must-have requirement, you

ow… Publishing editors are on the same boat.”

see. Being a light novel author is no good and becoming a publishing editor is also impossible

d Zaimokuza, groaning. But then, his eyes flashed and he stood up yelling in a strange voice.

have got it! In that case, this means the today’s modern era is all about directors! I will make a

me! Don-don-donuts, let’s go nuts![17]”

s bawling voice echoed throughout the quiet library room. I couldn’t help but break into a bitte

ile when the echoing stopped.

…Well, if that makes you happy, that’s fine.” I said.”

imokuza blinked in surprise. “Mu, why are you saying something an old boyfriend would say…

Hey, stop that. W-We’re not in that kinda relationship, right…?”

on’t get all red and nervous, that’s really gross. I just gave up on you, idiot. Whatever, just get

iting. I can’t go home.”

Mu. True… Fine, let’s get to writing.”

imokuza’s energy from when he screamed out had up and vanished somewhere and then he turn

ectedly obedient. As he pulled his shoulders in together, he began writing something on his no

h, I guess you still plan on writing your light novel, huh? How surprising.

en the Zaimokuza who exhibited no signs of growth was changing little by little. Although he w

veling on all kinds of paths like escape paths, short paths, circular paths, and so forth, he was

ming for his destination. Though in Zaimokuza’s case, his destination of marrying a voice actor

re or less doomed.


39/156

t even so, just like how he’d finish his writing word by word and sentence by sentence, he’d

ntinue to accumulate years in his life and would mark his eventual departure from his nest.

ere’s roughly only about one year until I graduated from high school. After that, assuming I wa

ke it through prep school and university without a hitch, it’d be approximately five years until

ry into society.

ve years.

ounded like an incredible amount of time, yet it felt like it would go by in the blink of an eye. I

nk that as we continue to grow, the period of a year gradually becomes shorter and shorter. An

ely enough, the length of this year of time wouldn’t be the same as the next years to come.

d I’m certain that it wasn’t just the length, but also their values.

s possible that this trivial moment as I gazed up at the bleak sky might have some kind of value

at’s why for now, I think I’ll continue to look up at this parched, yet beautiful sky for a little lo


40/156


41/156

Chapter 2: Surely, Isshiki Iroha is made of

sugar and spice, and something nice.

he heater clonked and clonked.

e heater that was installed in the clubroom had been put to use for a considerable amount of timth it operating for so long, it was seemingly starting to show signs of wear. Either the fan got s

motor had issues, or the frame was warped somewhere.

ound the time it became evening after school, our little heater started making peculiar noises a

announce the end of club activities.

idn’t pay it much attention since I had been focused on reading and listening to Yuigahama and

kinoshita chatting. Though the instant they went quiet, the noise became audible.

kinoshita who had her gaze dropped to her paperback book stopped turning the pages of her b

d looked at the heater near the window. The same noise was apparently bothering her as well.

…It’s rather peaceful today, isn’t it?”

know, right? It’s kinda relaxing.”

igahama stretched out her hand, which had been fiddling with her cellphone, to her mug. Simil

rabbed my teacup and gulped down the tea lacking in warmth.

ter we both breathed out with satisfaction, the clonking noise filled the room that turned silent

ain. Even Yuigahama eventually found the heater concerning and looked at it.

e never really did notice how incessant the noise of the heater was. It might’ve been because I

d dropped by so often recently.

course, it’s not because she’s annoying or loud or noisy or talkative, but our attention naturally

fted to something else whenever she wasn’t around. And every time Isshiki visited us, she’d bme kind of good-for-nothing request, so things just end up becoming hectic.

with all that had happened, it’s been a while since the room had been this peaceful.

I helped myself to warm tea and sweets, I’d read my book absentmindedly while listening the

change between a collected voice and a cheery voice, occasionally contributing with my own.

visitors, no work, only a mellow atmosphere. Becoming familiar with this situation made it s

ore like your regular every day of trivialities, but even so, it’s a wonderful feeling being able to

perience it after so long. Because of that, the persistent noise of the heater was like the sound o


42/156

ht shower in the early afternoon, resembling a rhythm with elegance.

losed my book and looked towards the window while listening to the noise of the heater.

azed into the sunset absentmindedly and Yukinoshita spoke up.

hall we call it a day?”

h yeah, it doesn’t look like anyone’s gonna come, anyway,” Yuigahama replied. She took the l

okie going, “Last cookie’s mine!” and started cleaning up the tea cakes.

kinoshita and I promptly got ready to head home while checking that the doors were locked. In

dition to confirming the locked windows, I moved my hand to the switch of the heater.

ood work,” I said, and flipped the switch. Upon turning it off, the clonking halted. Considering

d season was going to continue for a little longer, it might not hurt to ask Hiratsuka-sensei to s

could get the heater examined and repaired.

ter adjusting our coats and scarves, we exited into the hallway. Yukinoshita locked the door toom.

th this, today’s business hours were now over.

w that work was over, all that’s left was to head straight home. When we walked down the

lway of the special building away from the clubroom, Yuigahama shivered and adjusted the fr

her coat. “…Yikes! The hallway’s freezing!”

e emptiness of the hallway wasn’t the reason why it had been so cold. It felt like a chill waswling upwards starting from my feet. I squeezed my scarf and tightened it.

guess it’s just more noticeable since the room was pretty warm.”

he hallway isn’t installed with heaters, after all.” Yukinoshita trotted forward as if telling her

al with it. Yuigahama was walking beside her and had a contemplative face while rubbing her

arf.

Mmm… Oh, I know!” she said, and then hugged Yukinoshita’s arm. “It should be a little warmethis!”

-Yuigahama-san, wait just a moment.” Yukinoshita staggered, her voice sharpening and her ey

coming resistant. But after she saw Yuigahama’s melting face, she sighed and gave in.

…Ooooh, so warm.”

’s hard to walk…”

reality, their temperatures shouldn’t have been all that different, but apparently their heat index


43/156

re. Just the sight of those two is enough to warm me up!

en after Yukinoshita had returned the key to the faculty office, Yuigahama continued to glue he

her.

ollowed the two who were tangled around each other and advanced through the hallway that le

entrance. On the way there, a familiar face appeared from inside the student council room.

h, it’s Iroha-chan. Yahallo.” Yuigahama lifted her left hand and waved, her right hand still

asping onto Yukinoshita’s arm. After noticing her, Isshiki rushed over to us.

hh, good evening. I’m glad you’re all still here.”

We’re already on our way home,” Yukinoshita said, Yuigahama still attached to her.

u’d think these two were flirting if you saw them from afar… At this point, it wouldn’t be od

d them strange, but that’s Isshiki for you. She must’ve gotten used to it because she didn’t seem

rticularly fazed and answered back like normal. “I was also done with some things on my end

ll, so I was thinking I’d drop by or something.”

id you need something?”

es, I do actually,” Isshiki said, nodding. As if being wary of Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, she

otioned to me and whispered, “Senpai, can I bother you for a second?”

uh? Yeah… sure…” I sent a look to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama telling them to head on home

d they nodded back. With Isshiki pulling me along by my sleeve, we approached the window a

d of the hallway.

e sky was colored in twilight and the wind that slapped the window seemed cold. With her ba

ing the window, Isshiki apprehensively asked, “Um, senpai, what’s going on with the work I a

u for help with before? I’d like to come to a decision on it already…”

m, yeah. I got it. I’ll do something about it.”

aring “work” caused me to respond mostly with the motivation that a corporate slave would h

s kind of a problem if I have to talk about work on my way home. Today’s Service Club busiurs were over. Please come back another day with your request. It’s cold and I want to go h

urned around after giving a vague, lukewarm response and Isshiki’s voice came at me from beh

h. Then, is it okay if we meet tomorrow at ten in the morning in front of Chiba Station?”

uh? Tomorrow?” I turned around instinctively and checked.

morrow was a day off. The Hikigaya household adopted the system of two full days of weekly

lidays. So if I was told to rest, I was going to rest. However, the problem was that the Service

opted the system of two days of weekly holiday. These two systems happened to be different. T


44/156

re you know. Anyway, that means whenever Service Club duties were brought up, I had this

ling of needing to work even on Saturdays and Sundays. On second thought, that’s not even a

tem of two days of weekly holiday, is it? What’s with this sweatshop club…?

o, I don’t think tomorrow’s going to work…”

ave an appropriate response for the time being to ensure my weekends and Isshiki moved her i

ger to her chin and tilted her head. “But I doubt there’s anything to do though?”

on’t give me that, you think I’d know…?”

s been bugging me every time, but why does Isshiki always talk under the assumption I knew

erything? Like I’d know what her plans were. I don’t know everything, I just know what I know

ter telling her, Isshiki slyly puffed her cheeks. “I mean, it’s senpai we’re talking about.”

h, you were talking about me… Wait, why is this about me now? Isn’t this kind of weird? Wel

u’re right that I don’t have anything to do though…”

ee, I knew it. In that case, I’ll be counting on you tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you

ion, senpai! I’ll be excusing myself now.”

-Sure…”

hiki made a bright smile, ended the conversation, and waved her hands in goodbye. Gosh! Iroh

t’s such a nice smile! Your face was telling me you wouldn’t let me say no, ask any questions,

eck over the details with you at all!

crap, did I make some kinda promise or something…? If she mentioned work, I think Isshik

ould’ve asked me for help with something… Aw crap, I, like, totally ain’t got a clue, man…

ving been coerced by Isshiki’s smile, I started walking towards the entrance.

ter walking a few steps, I glanced around back at Isshiki and she was still waving her hand wi

ile.

ell, it’s me we’re talking about here. It’s possible she was just saying something whatever wascessary for the time being like I did earlier. In fact, that seems like the only possibility. The de

re the issue…

t unable to remember a single thing, I buried my face into my scarf and puffed while thinking, b

thing ultimately came to mind.

wracked my brain while heading to the entrance and I could see Yuigahama and Yukinoshita id

atting in place. It looks like I made them wait for me.

hh, sorry. You guys could’ve just gone home without me…” I said.


45/156

igahama vigorously spun around when I called out to them. In that moment, she dragged

kinoshita along with her, still holding onto her. You know what she reminded me of? Like a d

o suddenly started moving around on its own in the middle of a walk.

We weren’t exactly waiting. Like, it’s just after Yukinon and I were talking, we kinda stood

ound… right?”

…I suppose.” Yukinoshita abruptly turned her face away when Yuigahama asked her. Seeing he

e that was similar to a cat who disliked being hugged.

h. Well, you know… thanks for that.”

hanked them and they both shook their heads. Seeing their truly trivial gestures was oddly

barrassing that I walked out after slipping on my loafers.

hen we made it outside, it was already dark around us. It may have been nearing the first day o

ing, but it looks like we had to wait a little longer before the day got longer.

we headed to the main gate from the entrance, Yuigahama walked beside me. “What did Irohaan say?”

Well, I really don’t know… Apparently it’s for work, but I really don’t know…”

hat’s not a very clear explanation…” Yukinoshita said with disbelief and a smile, walking a st

m behind us.

wever, it’s a frequent occurrence for work to not come with very good explanations. As a mat

fact, the current Service Club activities were more or less given no explanation whatsoever…ough, since I had undergone situations where having an explanation beforehand would’ve mad

erything much easier, having reports, communication, and consultations were really important,

.

ck, you didn’t even need to work as long you had those. Imagine if some important person told

mething, you could just snap back at him with, “I made sure to report, communicate, and consu

th you, didn’t I!?” You might be able to avoid responsibility that way!

with that in mind, let’s try to skip out on work tomorrow, too!


46/156

2-2

day off with clear winter skies. The front of Chiba Station was bustling with activity.

magine the city area was much worse, but this chaos was more than enough for me since I very

ely go out on the weekends.

made a sidelong glance at the people going back and forth through the front of the station and

ecked the time. It was ten fifteen in the morning.

was already past the appointed time and Isshiki was still nowhere to be seen. As much as I’d li

nfirm the time with Isshiki, I didn’t have her number and was out of luck.

hen you said to meet in front of Chiba Station, that should unmistakably be the east entrance, bu

ssible that it meant the west entrance instead… No, it’s probable that it could refer to the Keis

iba Station as well. After all, they used to call the Keisei-Chiba Station, the National Chiba

ilway Front Station—seriously… which station was it? The word front was in its name… If n

t, there’s also Nishi-Chiba Station, Higashi-Chiba Station, Hon-Chiba Station, Shin-Chiba Staiba-Minato Station, Chiba-Koen Station, Chiba-Chuuei Station, or perhaps, Chiba Newtown

ation and the ridiculous number of lines with Chiba in their names. For Chiba beginners, this m

t be a tad too difficult to process.

hen someone from Chiba Prefecture or Chiba City said, “I’m going to Chiba”; make no mistake

y were saying they were going to check around the area of Chiba Station. This might not be ve

uitive to people from other regions. Say, for people from Hokkaido, you’d have no idea what t

re referring to when they stated, “I’m going to Hokkaido. Or for people from Tokyo, “I’m goin

kyo” sounded as if they were going to chase their dreams and becoming something BIG.

as I thought about ho

Documents

Yahari Volume 10.5